No. 1 Djokovic gets past Shapovalov in Shanghai

World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic sailed past Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The Serbian, the top seed in China, need just one hour and 11 minutes to top Shapovalov. Wednesday's match continued Djokovic's dominance in the tournament, which he won last year without dropping a set.

A 33-time Masters 1000 titlist, Djokovic didn't lose a set last week, either, when he won the Rakuten Japan Open in Tokyo.

On Thursday, Djokovic will meet 16th seed John Isner in his quest to reach the quarterfinals. The big-serving Isner tallied 19 aces in beating Lucas Pouille of France 7-5, 6-3.

After Wednesday's match, Djokovic praised his 20-year-old competitor and pronounced himself fit following the shoulder injury that forced him to pull out of the U.S. Open this summer.

"He was serving really well, high percentage also first serves, and just really difficult to return in the first set, so it took me a little bit of time to really adjust, start reading his serve a little bit better," Djokovic, 32, said after the match.

"But I thought I served really well. I used angles. I was very solid from back of the court. I had no problems with the shoulder pain ... So no concerns there. Everything is feeling and looking good."

There were no surprises on Wednesday, with every seeded player in action advancing.

No. 4 seed Dominic Thiem of Austria ousted Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6 (3), 6-3, but fifth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany was pushed by Frenchman Jeremy Chardy as he advanced after a 7-6 (13), 7-6 (3) clash.

No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece also needed a pair of tiebreakers to top Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3). Seventh seed Karen Khachanov of Russia defeated American Taylor Fritz 6-2, 6-4.

Another American, Reilly Opelka, fell to eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain, who posted a 6-4, 7-5 win despite 18 aces from his opponent.

Italian Matteo Berrettini, the 11th seed, and No. 13 seed David Goffin of Belgium also moved on.

--Field Level Media